Too calm to finish it

It is not every day that a player qualify for and play in the final stage of the individual championship. For sure each player has his own reason(s) for not appearing in the round, but, in my opinion, missing the chance to play Amr El Jawish or Faisal Khairallah (with all the respects for the other champions) is a big technical mistake. I hope that it wasn’t a force majeure that prohibited Karim Hamaoui and Dr. Mahmoud Maasarani from coming to the final round.

On the other hand, the remaining 4 games were drawn but not without some fight. Amir Abou El-Husn remains true to himself and tried, being playing White or Black, to generate an attack. But Mohamad ElSalman defended well, and after exchanges, you already know the result.

Even with reduced materials, Bassel Charaf sacrificed his bishop in order to create one or two passed pawns on the queen side. But Ahmad Najjar preferred to finish the tournament with peace using a perpetual check against Bassel’s king.

A lively game was played between Antoine Kassis and Jamal Shamiyeh. After some tactical play in the middle game, the former obtained an advantage, which disappeared with the precise and active play from Jamal. I am afraid to repeat myself, but exchanges, exchanges, and…a draw.

The calm ,and short, one was AbdelAziz ELMahmoud - Elie Asmar encounter. No risk play led to a quick draw. What can we say?